A full-size working replica of the Titanic is to be built in
China following an historic agreement between Australian entrepreneur
Clive Palmer and a Chinese shipyard who are poised to sign a deal.

Titanic II
is due to be completed by 2016. It will then be sailed to the UK and
prepared for her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York - a repeat
of the 1912 journey which ended in disaster.

The Jinling Shipyard
in Nanjing has already signed an initial agreement to build the ship
with billionaire mining tycoon Mr. Palmer.

Design work for the
vessel, which it is claimed will precisely resemble the original
Titanic, is being carried out by a consortium of companies including
Norway's Deltamarin.

'It's difficult to replicate a luxury liner,
but Jinling Shipyard has a history of 60 years of building various kinds
of vessels with high quality,' the shipyard's director, Ge Biao, told
China's Xinhua news agency.

The ship will be 270 metres long and
53 metres high with nine floors and 840 rooms. It will accommodate 2,400
passengers and 900 crew members.

'The liner will be equipped with
advanced technologies, including the latest life-saving and
communications systems to meet the requirements of modern navigation,'
Jinling Shipyards spokesman Li Wenbao told the China Daily newspaper.

Representatives
of Mr Palmer said on Saturday that his company had received inquiries
from potential passengers around the world, with some offering up to $1m
for a chance to be on the maiden voyage in 2016.

The original and
'unsinkable' Titanic set sail from Southampton on April 15, 1912, bound
for New York City. She hit an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank, killing
1,523 passengers and crew.

The history of the voyage is well
known in China because of the popularity of the 1997 film staring
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It was one of the first western
films to be authorised for general release in China and it remains one
of the top three most popular films.

Celine Dion, who sang the
film's title song, became the first foreigner to perform at this year's
traditional Chinese New Year Gala which is televised across the country.
She chose to sing the song from the film, My Heart Will Go On.

The
decision by Mr Palmer to choose a Chinese company has prompted
scepticism from some about how achievable the project is and how safe
the end product will be.

The issue has even been raised in Chinese government-backed newspapers.

'Frequent
scandals involving shoddy products domestically and internationally
have turned the term 'Made in China' into a synonym for cheap and low
value-added products,' an editorial in the Global Times said.

However, the newspaper argued that the Titanic II project should be a chance to prove that the 'Made in China' brand does work.

'It is indeed a challenge for China to fulfill a flawless construction mission as the world watches,' the editorial said.

Museums around the world are marking the anniversary of the April 15, 1912, incident, made even more famous by the 1997 movie "Titanic." A major local commemoration is the virtual voyage at San Diego Natural History Museum. When you buy a $27 ticket aboard the Titanic, you are assigned the name of an actual 1912 passenger and walk through exhibit galleries that explain how Titanic came to be, some of the personalities aboard the vessel's celebrated maiden voyage, how she met her demise and how artifacts being salvaged from the ocean floor are keeping Titanic's legacy alive. You view some 200 artifacts, including passengers' personal belongings, raised from the deep. The exhibit runs through Sept. 9.

The outspoken businessman said a casino would most probably be restricted to first class passengers only to ensure those who could not afford to lose money didn't. "There'll be some sort of screening (process)," Mr Palmer said. We'll be in international waters so we'll probably be able to stop pensioners coming without breaching any legislation." He said the replica of the ill-fated Titanic would feature a number of key differences including the addition of a "safety deck" with "proper lifeboats".

Bob Ballard, who discovered the Titanic in 1985, is a shipwreck-finding machine. Now you can watch his crew search for ancient wrecks through the eyes of the machines that do the real work. This summer, as Ballard and his exploration ship Nautilus sail the Black and Mediterranean seas, armchair explorers can watch online atwww.nautiluslive.org. As a rotating crew of 100 scientists and educators search for Byzantine-era ships and sample ocean life, live video from two remotely operated vehicles — the classically named Hercules and Argus — will take viewers to the seafloor in real time. Outfitted with a high-speed data link, the Nautilus is the only exploration ship in the world bringing the public along for the ride.

We stood in a light misty rain at the bottom of a gentle rise at the upper end of the Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Ahead of us, four rows of mostly identical gray granite markers curved inward to come to a point at the top of the rise. Our tour guide, a gentlemanly, kilt-wearing Scotsman named Doug, said the curve was deliberate, to indicate the prow of a ship. Each marker bears the date April 15, 1912, the date these 121 people died on the steamship Titanic. Each marker has a name, if known, and many aren’t, and a number that indicates the order in which the body was found. Since some bodies were so badly damaged that they were buried at sea and some were removed by family members, the numbers exceed the 149 buried in Halifax. Perhaps being there in the rain was appropriate: It’s a sad place, but a well-kept, revered spot.

It wasn't the woman in the white Victorian gown and satin gloves who drew the most looks at Molly Brown's 145th-birthday celebration Sunday but the woman in a red shirt and jeans — Brown's great-granddaughter. Helen Benziger, 61, joined the crowd celebrating her great-grandmother's birthday at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver. "This is the most amazing thing that she could have dreamed of," Benziger said. "She would love it if she knew that this many people, a hundred years later, still came here and held her in such great esteem." The event included children's activities, tours of the home — saved from demolition in 1970 — historic presentations and cake.

Premier Exhibitions, known for its 'Bodies' shows and Titanic exhibit, posted a 9 percent jump in first-quarter net income as it held more events and operated on more days during the period. The Atlanta company earned $1.2 million, or 2 cents per share, for the three months ended May 31. That compares with $1.1 million, or 2 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 19 percent to $11.5 million from $9.7 million.

After publishing an April roundup post of Titanic books, Washington Post contributing editor Dennis Drabelle received the most adorable correction ever from an unlikely source -- a fifth grade class from Burning Tree Elementary School in Bethesda, Md., Poynter reports. Drabelle had initially written that Titanic collided with the iceberg on April 15 -- something the youngsters refuted with an adorable correction written on a large letter. “Based on our research,” wrote Mrs. Reed’s fifth-grade class, “the Titanic hit the iceberg shortly before midnight on April 14, 1912.” Whoops!

The medal is believed to be the rarest of its kind – only a few were made and the one being sold by auctioneers Aldridge & Sons in Wiltshire later this month is the most senior to be sold. It was given to the Carpathia’s second officer, James Bisset and is a gold medal of thanks – it’s only the second gold medal to be offered for sale anywhere in the world in the past 25 years. “It’s thought to be the most senior officer’s medal ever to go under the hammer,” said Andrew Aldridge, from the Devizes firm.

Food and wine lovers with a sense of history will be in their element from Monday July 30 to Sunday 5 August when the 'Titanic Culinary Journey' sets sail at Palmer Coolum Resort. The lavish menus from the world's most famous ship, the RMS Titanic, will be lovingly recreated by Palmer Coolum Resort's skilled chefs during a romantic culinary celebration that will encapsulate breakfast, lunch and dinner at the resort's sumptuous restaurants. While guests indulge their tastebuds from the delectable menus, imagery and entertainment will complete the experience by showcasing the extravagance that was so prevalent in maritime travel during early 1900s.

A memorial plaque in tribute to eight shipyard workers who lost their lives during the construction of the Titanic has been unveiled. First Minister Peter Robinson unveiled the memorial erected outside the club rooms of Harland and Wolff Welders’ Football and Social Club in east Belfast.

The South Carolina State Museum has a new Titanic exhibit; which has been a popular one so far this summer. The exhibit includes over 100 artifacts found from the actual ship wreck; from dishes to clothing to purses; even beds. There is also a movie showcasing how it was built until it sank. Another unique feature is a fake iceberg for people to touch. It shows just how cold the water was that froze most of the passengers to death.

The discovery of the two corpses on the seabed could help to settle an argument over whether the plane was shot down in international airspace or over Syrian territorial waters. Turkey recruited the services of Robert Ballard, a renowned oceanographer who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985, to locate the remains of the F-4 Phantom and its two missing crew members. The bodies of Gokhan Ertan and Hasan Huseyin Aksov were located by the MV Nautilus, an American deep-sea exploration vessel led by Mr Ballard. The boat is now attempting to retrieve the remains of the two men. The wreckage of the plane itself has yet to be found. Turkey will hope that its retrieval will boost its case that Syria shot the aircraft down deliberately and without warning in international airspace -- although it has acknowledged that the plane probably drifted into Syrian waters when it crashed.

MINING tycoon Clive Palmer said today it was full steam ahead for his plan to build a 21st century version of the Titanic, with 20,000 people expressing interest in the maiden voyage.

There was scepticism when the self-made mining billionaire announced his ambitious plans in April to construct Titanic II with exactly the same dimensions as its ill-fated predecessor, which sank 100 years ago.

But Mr Palmer today said one of the world's leading ship design and marine engineering companies had now been commissioned to assist with the project.

Finnish-based Deltamarin, which has offices worldwide, will undertake a full review to ensure the vessel will be compliant with all current safety and construction regulations.

It will also ensure that the design criteria laid down by Blue Star Line, which Palmer established, are met.

The work carried out by Deltamarin will enable China's CSC Jinling Shipyard to begin construction of the passenger liner, which will be 270 metres long, 53 metres high and weigh 40,000 tonnes.

It will have 840 rooms and nine decks.

Mr Palmer said there had been keen international interest from passengers wanting to be on board the maiden commercial voyage scheduled for 2016 between England and North America.

"More than 20,000 people have registered on Blue Star Line's website expressing an interest in receiving regular updates from us or requesting information on how to secure bookings for Titanic II's maiden voyage," he said.

"Titanic II will be a regular feature on the transatlantic route between the UK and USA," Palmer added.

"This magnificent vessel is being constructed in memory of the heroic people who served on the first ship, as well as the passengers who sadly shared their fate."

Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg on its first voyage, from Southampton to New York, killing more than 1500 passengers and crew. The original liner was built in Belfast.

Australia's ABC has put together a great collection of Titanic resources to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic.

There are numerous images, videos, articles and resources from 1912 and today. I strongly recommend taking a look at this for a range of high quality Titanic content including the casualty lists of who went down with the Titanic? Examine 10 hastily typed fatality reports from the time. Access it here.

Reaching bottom after a 2-hour-and-36-minute descent, the National Geographic explorer and filmmaker typed out welcome words for the cheering support crew waiting at the surface: "All systems OK."

Folded into a sub cockpit as cramped as any Apollo capsule, the National Geographic explorer and filmmaker is now investigating a seascape more alien to humans than the moon. Cameron is only the third person to reach this Pacific Ocean valley southwest of Guam (map)—and the only one to do so solo.

After as long as six hours in the trench, Cameron—best known for creating fictional worlds on film(Avatar, Titanic, The Abyss)—is to jettison steel weights attached to the sub and shoot back to the surface. (See pictures of Cameron's sub.)

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has finished production on a four-part miniseries called Titanic, which will premiere on ABC this April.

Let heaven and angels sing Hallelujah.

Along with virtually every other thing that is happening in April, the series' debut is set to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

This review of the show in the Guardian comes as close to saying the program is straight up exactly like Downton Abbey as one can come without actually saying that. In other words: look for it to be alternately frustrating and amazing and expecting you to fawn all over it when it shows up to tea wearing ugly hammer pants.

Oh, there is one twist:

In an innovative, but not entirely successful move, viewers will watch the boat begin to sink at the end of each episode, as Fellowes retells the story from different characters' viewpoints. Who survives the tragedy, however, is not revealed until the final episode.

The Guardian review notes that this effect is "sometimes confusing," but that is definitely not going to stop everyone you know from watching.

(Reuters) - A century after the Titanic disaster, scientists have found an unexpected culprit for the sinking: the moon.

Anyone who knows history or has seen the blockbuster movies knows that the cause of the transatlantic liner's accident 100 years ago next month was that it hit an iceberg.

"But the lunar connection may explain how an unusually large number of icebergs got into the path of the Titanic," said Donald Olson, a Texas State University physicist whose team of forensic astronomers examined the moon's role.

Ever since the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, killing 1,517 people, researchers have puzzled over Captain Edward Smith's seeming disregard of warnings that icebergs were in the area where the ship was sailing.

Smith was the most experienced captain in the White Star Line and had sailed the North Atlantic sea lanes on numerous occasions. He had been assigned to the maiden voyage of the Titanic because he was a knowledgeable and careful seaman.

James Cameron talks about why’Titanic’ is a worthy 3D movie experience, and a look at some polished footage from the film suggests that the acclaimed director may be right.

It was a year ago that we first learned thatTitanic was being converted into 3D, and since then, reaction has been joyous nostalgia juxtaposed to continued disdain for a filmmaking format that some just refuse to embrace.

Well, anti-3D people, James Cameron feels your pain and he wants to explain to you (and anybody else who may be wondering) just why Titanic 3D is going to be worth your while. Better yet: he’s not going to just tell you, he’s going to (sort of) show you why Titanic is worth a 3D conversion.

When Titanic set sail from Southampton on 10 April 1912, the ship was thought to be virtually unsinkable. But five days later, it collided with an iceberg and sank with the loss of 1,500 lives.

Now hundreds of original artefacts from Titanic are going on show at The O2 in London. I had a preview of the exhibition this morning.

On entering the gallery, the first thing you see is the bell from the ship’s crow’s nest, lit up in red and accompanied by evocative music and ringing sounds. Lookout Frederick Fleet rang the bell three times on the night of the collision, with the warning ”iceberg right ahead!”

In subsequent rooms, you learn about the design and construction of the Titanic, before seeing an array of passenger possessions, which are a poignant reminder of the lives lost. There are playing cards, a leather cigarette case, a toothpaste jar, and even a handkerchief that survived years under the ocean.

The exhibition gives a good feel of the ship’s interiors. There are reconstructions of first and third-class cabins and the dramatic engine room, as well as fascinating artefacts such as the bath plug from a first-class cabin, which was installed at the side of the bath so passengers didn’t have to reach into the dirty water. (The 700 third-class passengers had to share two bathtubs.)

Titanic was designed to carry cargo, hence the full title RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Titanic, and there’s a gallery displaying the remnants of some of this cargo. Although shipping goods on Titanic was relatively expensive, traders saved on insurance costs because the ship was considered to be so safe.

As you near the end of the exhibition, the galleries become noticeably colder and darker. There’s a frosty iceberg wall, where you can feel how cold the sea was on the night of the disaster. Many of the casualties died of hyperthermia rather than drowning.

At the exhibition’s entrance, everyone receives a boarding pass with the name and details of a real Titanic passenger. At the end you can check the “memorial wall” to find out whether the person named on your card survived. The exhibition is an educational and emotional journey, and well worth a visit when it opens to the public on Friday.

A single flare was fired above the city's docklands to signify the exact moment - 12.13pm - 100 years ago when the ill-fated liner rolled down the slipway and touched the water for the first time.

All boats in the area around the Harland and Wolff shipyards, where the pride of the White Star fleet was built, then sounded their horns.

In 1911, thousands of cheering well-wishers gathered at the same place to celebrate the historic moment.

A century on, the mood was again one of celebration at the event on the Queen's Island slipway which focused more on the ship's construction than its fate.

After the flare was fired, crowds clapped for exactly 62 seconds - the length of time it took for the liner to roll down the slipway in 1911.

The Titanic sank on her maiden transatlantic voyage 11 months after her launch, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives, when she struck an iceberg.

Among the invited guests at the commemoration were schoolchildren and representatives from the four other cities and towns directly connected to the Titanic story - Cherbourg in France, Cobh (formerly Queenstown) in Co Cork, Liverpool and Southampton.

The Harlandic and Queen's Victoria male voice choirs sang a number of hymns during the half-hour service close to the almost-complete £100 million Titanic visitors centre, which is set to open ahead of next year's centenary of the liner's sinking in 1912.

Earlier, a major new exhibition on the Titanic opened at the nearby Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, boasting some artefacts recovered from the liner that have never been put on public display before.

Descendants of many of the men who helped build the ship, some of whom sailed on the first voyage and died in the maritime disaster, attended the service.

Lord Mayor of Belfast, councillor Niall O Donnghaile, said Belfast's role in the Titanic story had been overlooked in the past.

"The Titanic story is probably one of the most fascinating, amazing, poignant, thought-provoking and absorbing tales from the last century, if not the last millennium," he said.

"For too long, Belfast's part in the Titanic story, and the role of the people of Belfast in bringing Titanic to life, has been neglected.

"Over the past few years, the city that gave birth to the ship, and many others, has finally and rightfully acknowledged her part in the tale, and today we are proud to celebrate the achievement, epitomised by this historic moment, and educate the world about our city's role in the Titanic story."